Popular: The So Called Life
by myinspirationxox
Summary: It looks like she has the good life. But even the rich and beautiful have problems. Katie Dotson has the pressure of trying to live up to who she appears to be, but how can she do that when she hasn't even figured herself out yet?
1. Football Fans

**The So Called Life of Popular People**

**By Stephanie **

**(A/N: Please R&R! The story is complete and there is more to come if you like it) **

**Thursday the 17****th, August****, 2006**

Katie Dotson held her head high as she climbed into her dads Mercedes. She glanced at her friends with a flicker of confidence in her navy blue eyes and shut the car door loudly.

"Hey dad, I'm bringing everyone home with me so we can get ready for the football game tonight," Katie told her dad, who nodded. By 'we' Katie meant her and her three best friends, Jen, Summer and Britney.

"Do we have a plan for tonight?" Britney asked.

"Yes, I already explained it during civics, didn't Summer pass you the note I wrote?" Katie asked. Summer looked down.

"No," Britney said, her cheeks turning pink.

"Sorry, I forgot," Summer said. Britney was the newest to the group and sometimes they forgot about her, or remembered, but discluded her anyway.

"Well, Sharon's driving us to the game at 7:00 and Summer's dad is picking us up at 10:00, right Summer?" Jen asked.

"Yup," Summer said, applying lip-gloss on her chapped lips. Tonight was the first football game of the year, which meant everybody would be there. Not going meant missing out on all the beginning-of-the-year action. That included new gossip, meeting new people, and witnessing first kisses. It was all memorable.

"Can I borrow something to wear?" Britney asked Katie as they stood, squished together, in Katie's small walk-in closet.

"Only if I've worn it before."

"This?" Britney asked, pointing to a purple lace camisole and a brown cardigan.

"Sure, you can wear it with these," Katie tossed Britney a pair of tiny white shorts that matched her camisole.

"Thanks. What are you guys wearing?" she asked.

"I was going to ask the same thing," Sharon, Katie's mom, appeared in the doorway of the closet.

"Hey mom," Katie said casually. "Could you leave please?" she tossed a pair of corduroy pants over her shoulder.

"Can't I check in once in a while?" she shrugged.

"We're just picking out outfits for the game tonight. You're still driving us right?" Jen asked.

"I guess so. I'm going to some dinner party with your dad while you're at the game, so be good and try not to call fifty times like last time," Sharon said.

"Hey, that was different. It was like eleven at night and I was home alone!" Katie protested.

"Baby," Summer teased. Everyone knew Katie was scared to death of staying home alone at night.

"I forgot all the murderers were after you," Jen giggled. She high-fived Britney.

"Guys!" Katie laughed. "I'm sorry okay, so I'm a baby. Stop embarrassing me mom, go away," she said lovingly.

"Okay, but you guys have about two and a half hours. What do you want me to fix you for dinner?" she asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Order some Chinese," Katie said.

"Extra baby corn," Britney said.

"Chicken fried rice please," Summer said.

"Soy sauce on the side," Jen threw in. She was the pickiest eater.

"Okay, I'll call you when it gets here." Sharon left and closed the door behind her leaving the four girls to their outfits.

"Why are these football games so important anyway?" Britney asked. She had come to South Lawson Middle School last year after football season had ended and had never been to one before.

"Britney," Katie said impatiently.

"I'm sorry I haven't been here since Kindergarten like everyone else," Britney said hurt.

"Sorry," Katie said. "They're important because when you're popular, like us," she teased, smiling at Britney, "you always show up or else you'll miss something important. The drama and gossip level at games are high."

"The one time I didn't go because my grandparents were in town, Carolyn kissed Isaac, broke up with him, and then asked out Michael. I didn't know what was happening at school for a week," Summer spoke up.

"Oh." Britney licked her lips.

"Plus we have to protect our spot," Jen said.

"What spot?" Britney asked.

"We never told her about the spot?" Katie asked Summer. Summer shrugged. Katie yawned.

"Our spot used to be where the cheerleaders would hang out before coming out to cheer until the principal decided it would seem more supportive if they stood out there the whole time. We secretly took over, after stealing the key, making a copy of it, and returning the original one. The principal never uses that room so he never knows we go in it," Jen said.

"It's like our own private room that we share with Grayson, Dylan and all their friends where we hang-out most of the time during games. We call it the Hot Spot," Katie said. She didn't add that when she was sitting in there with her best friends, and her guy friends, talking and laughing, she felt a sense of indescribable power.

"How come we have the room and no one else gets it?" Britney asked. Silence filled the room for a few moments.

"Katie got it for us last year and then we kind of just started hanging out there. No one else ever protested or anything. Now they just know it's where we hang out. Anyone from our group, or the guys group can come in but other than that, I guess you have to be invited…" Summer trailed off. Britney was biting her nails after that last question but stopped when Jen pushed her hand down.

"Sorry, it bugs me."

"Brit, are you okay?" Katie asked, looking at Britney's worried face.

"I'm kind of nervous actually. I don't know any of the guys you hang out with very well, I've never been to one of your football games, and I don't know," she said, biting on her fingernails again.

"Babe, you've been one of our best friends for like a year and a half now. You see these guys every single day at school, and everyone loves you because you're so cheery and outgoing. Don't be nervous okay?" Katie stood up when she heard the doorbell, which meant their Chinese was here.

"Come on, let's go eat," Jen said, pulling Britney and Summer up to their feet. They trailed downstairs and grabbed cartons from the guy while her mom paid. They dumped all the food on the kitchen table and poured it onto plates, ready to shove it in their faces. It smelled amazing.

"Hungry?" Katie's dad smiled at Katie as she walked into the kitchen.

"Maybe," Katie smiled.

"Well eat up were leaving soon." There was no hesitation.

The room was only big enough to fit 20 people comfortably, which made it cozy. There were two couches, a few chairs, a small refrigerator and a large mirror. There was even electrical heating. Katie loved walking into it, lighting a few candles and sipping on some hot chocolate. She felt safe and secure, like her whole life was set and she would never have to worry about it.

"Hey Jen, how did Grayson get here?" Katie asked, sitting down on one of the couches. They were the first ones there. Jen made a face. Jen hated talking about Grayson, her closest first cousin. He lived in Jen's neighborhood but was staying at Jen's house at the moment because of his parents. Grayson's parents traveled a lot for business and sometimes were away for weeks at a time. They were in China at the time, making a business deal. They wouldn't be back for three more weeks. Jen and Grayson were pretty much considered twins since he was only six months older than Jen. Half of the time she thought it was cool having him around because of the guy connections but the other half of the time she spent loathing him because of his popularity. Grayson was more popular than Jen was and he was always in the spotlight. Jen was already hid behind Katie's spotlight, so when it came to Grayson, she got frustrated easily.

"He rode with Dylan," Jen said, looking out the window. Dylan lived in the same neighborhood as Jen's family and they had grown up together. He was Grayson's best friend.

"Hey lets go buy some water and then come back. I'm really thirsty," Britney said. Katie agreed, because she didn't really feel comfortable being the first ones to the Hot Spot. They walked down the oh-so-familiar path up to the concession stands where they had a Starbucks stand, a food stand, and a baked goods stand. The lines were all short so they jumped in at Starbucks, because Summer wanted a chocolate chip frappuccino. They ordered, paid, then everyone had to have a sip of Summers drink before they walked back to their secret hide-a-way. They weren't missing much out on the field because it was tied, 1-1.

Inside, Jessica, Blake, John, Tyler, and Amber were chatting away.

"Hey somebody turned on candles and stuff in here and the blankets were already taken out. Do you think someone was in here already, messin' with our place?" Tyler asked, picking up a white blanket like it was poisoned.

"No," Summer laughed.

"We were already here before you guys got here, we just went to the Starbucks stand," Jen said, sitting next to Jessica and Blake, who were going out.

"Hey Jen," Jessica chirped. She was the type of girl who couldn't hold down a boyfriend for more than three weeks because she was so indecisive. Jen smiled. She didn't like Jessica, or John. Britney and Katie sat down on a couch and Summer lounged on a chair in the corner of the room. She liked to observe.

"I didn't see you at school today John, where were you?" Katie asked.

"I skipped because I forgot to do my Science project. Are you offended?" he asked, shrugging. Katie looked over at Jen who made a face. No one really liked John, but his big ego just made him popular.

"No, but…..whatever."

"He came to the came to see me! Right?" Jessica said, grabbing his hand. He smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Jen made silent barfing motion with her mouth.

"Where's Shane?" Jen asked anxiously.

"Yea, and where Dylan and Grayson? It's already ten to eight," Amber said just as the door flung open.

"Wait!" Dylan yelled.

"Were here!" Shane shoved him aside and threw his hands up in the air dramatically.

"How exciting," Jessica mumbled.

"Hey, we are exciting," Dylan said, pointing a finger in Jessica's little face. Dylan walked over to Summer and pinched her arm.

"Don't touch," Summer said in a whiny voice.

"How am I supposed to sit next to you if you're sitting in a chair?" he said, his dark eyes sparkling with amusement. He was the kind of guy who teased girls and they loved it.

"Go sit next to Shane and Amber," Summer said. Dylan pulled Summer up and sat in her chair.

"No, sit in my lap," he said. She sighed playfully, even though she fully intended to sit in his lap, which she did, two seconds later.

"Hey Grayson," Katie said softly. He nodded at her,

"Hey."

Katie watched him sit next to Shane and grinned to Britney.

"What?" she asked. Katie stopped smiling and focused on Dylan who was telling a story, but you could barely hear him because Summer was blocking the sound waves.

"We can't hear you, dumb idiot," Katie said. Dylan poked his head around Summer's body. Everyone laughed, including summer, who scooted onto one of his legs so everyone could see his face. Katie felt herself drifting off, into her own little world as everyone told their stories and laughed. The familiar scene of the room made her toes tingle. She hadn't been here in a whole year and she finally was back. It was Katie's rule that it remain locked up all the time except for Thursdays in August from 7:00-10:00. Katie had a key, Grayson and Jen shared a key, Summer had a key, and John had a key. Katie was thinking about installing a camera system in there just to be sure John wasn't using his key to sneak in and make-out with Jessica after school but she didn't feel like going through all the difficulties. They had been going out since July and had already been to first base.

Her eyes slowly rested on Grayson in all of his perfection. It wasn't like she was in love, because she definitely wasn't, it was just that somewhere under all of that dark brown shaggy hair, was a person Katie really had fun being with. And she also though he was hott but that's beside the point. He hadn't had a haircut since June so his hair rested just below his eyebrows, which Katie liked. It bothered her when guy's hair was too short, and made her wonder what guys thought about her own golden blonde hair. Grayson was wearing a dark green sweatshirt with some football team on the front, jeans, and black basketball shoes. He had been wearing his signature black hat but had taken it off and was holding it in his hand.

"Hey Katie, can't stop staring at me huh?" Grayson smirked, catching Katie staring over at him. Katie immediately blushed and then hated herself for always getting so red under pressure.

"You're pretty confident. Maybe I was staring at you thinking about what a freak you are."

"Nope. You love me," Grayson joked. She felt a strange twinge in her stomach and felt all bubbly. _"__Stop being such a baby. He probably thinks you're stupid anyway," _Katie thought to herself. But she couldn't help wonder why she cared so much anyway. It was just Grayson, practically Jen's identical twin. They had the same eyes and hair color. _"__it's__ against the unwritten BFF rules to like their siblings. But does Grayson even count? He's just a cousin..."_

"Katie?" Jen said, poking her arm. Katie's head snapped up surprised. Tyler laughed at her.

"Are we that boring? Were trying to share our souls here and your over there sleeping!" Dylan cried.

"Oh…..what?" Katie asked dumbly. Tyler and Shane cracked up.

"We were sharing who we liked. We wanted you to go first," Britney said.

"Oh thanks. But I don't like anyone really. I don't know. Maybe I'm still developing opinions," Katie tried to look sure of it but Jen didn't buy it.

"I don't believe you, Katie. You have to like someone. You doodle in class. You never doodle unless you're thinking about a guy," Jen spilled.

"Really? I saw her doodling in History!" John cried.

"Me too!" Amber said excitedly.

"Thanks a lot _Jennifer_," Katie muttered.

"So who is it?" Grayson asked, sliding forwards in his seat. He didn't look amused; he just kind of looked focused. Katie was stuck. She didn't know what to say first of all because she didn't even truly know who she liked, and second, she didn't want people bugging her constantly about her decision. Plus, you would never want to wrong information to fall in the wrong persons hands. It could get ugly.

"I…" Katie stammered. If she said Grayson, who she was honestly confused about, he might be creeped out and never come talk to her again, but if she said someone else, she could be discouraging his from coming to flirt with her again.

"Ryan Aastachzio," Katie blurted, then regretted it when she saw Grayson put his hat back on and slide back into his seat while Jen and Britney squealed in unison. Ryan was the hottie at the camp Jen, Britney, and Katie went to. Summer went to New York every summer to see her aunt.

"Ryan who?" Jessica crinkled her nose up in confusion. Katie personally thought that Ryan was super hot, but nothing more than that. He had a fake personality and was sort of a pervert. He would never make a good boyfriend in Katie's eyes, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

"So you like Ryan Aastachzio?" Grayson confirmed from the other side of the room. Jen and Britney had talked about him so much after camp ended that Grayson had said he felt like he knew the guy. Katie exhaled sharply. She wanted to scream in his face, "_No you idiot! Why do you think I flirt with you??_" but she kept quiet and just shrugged a little. She felt totally defeated as she heard her friends' comments.

"I thought she liked Dylan."

"Do you think they would make a good couple?"

"No fair, I want Ryan." (That one was Britney)

For the next half hour that she sat there with them, she couldn't concentrate on a single thing they said. Her head was spinning, thinking about if she should mention anything to Grayson or how she could make him realize that she didn't like Ryan.

She thought about it after the football game, on the way back to her house, and in her room, when she was all alone.

"Katie?" Sharon Dotson asked.

"Hmm," Katie muffled behind her pillows, as she lay on her bed.

"Are you okay honey? You looked so sad when you came home from the game and you went straight up to your room." Her mother put down the laundry basket that was in her hands and sat down on Katie's bed. "Katie?"

"I'm just thinking mom. I just wanted to think about life," Katie said sitting up.

"Thinking about life?" Sharon sounded surprised, which made Katie frown.

"Yes, am I not capable of thinking? Do you think I'm stupid or something?" Katie accused.

"No, I think you are very smart. You're just acting funny. Why don't you just go ahead and get ready for bed and try to get some sleep. You can think while you're in your bed. You look tired." Sharon stood up and gathered her laundry.

"Kay," Katie crawled out of her bed and walked into her bathroom. She was glad her tiles were heated and her bathroom was lit up brightly to wake herself up. She wasn't really going to go to bed; she just ran the water for a few seconds so her mom thought she was brushing her teeth. Then she put on some sweats and grabbed her laptop. Maybe If Grayson was on Instant Messenger they could have a little chat. She thought about calling him on his cell phone but then she remembered that he had just gotten a new cell phone and a new number. But when she logged in, she saw that the only people on were Dylan, her aunt, some people from camp, and John. She didn't really feel like talking to any of those people so she sat, staring at her computer uselessly. She hated the feeling she got when she had nobody to talk to, nowhere to go, and nothing to do.

A few moments passed before Katie got an idea and she almost jumped with excitement.

"Dylan," she whispered excitedly as she typed out a message to him.

BabiGurrl32: What is Grayson's new cell phone #?

Dylanstheman414: I dunno. But he's sittin' right here so u can ask him

Katie felt her cheeks redden and wished she had just gone to bed like her mother suggested. She stared at the screen in horror as she thought about what she should do. She thought about signing off, turning off her computer and climbing under covers but then she would look like she was embarrassed and running away. So she just decided to make the best out of the situation.

**BabiGurrl**Then his # is easy access

**D-Man21: **Why don't you call his cell and then ask for his number?

**BabiGurrl**Shut up

**D-Man21: **Why do u want his #?

**BabiGurrl**Dylan!

**D-Man21: **Ok! Sheesh. Grayson says 584-3483. He also says him phone is dead right now so don't call tonight. He says see you tomorrow

**BabiGurrl**Kay. Bi.

**BabiGurrl**** is no longer available **


	2. Just Admit It

**Chapter 2: Just admit it **

**Let me know what you think :)**

**Friday the 18****th **

The next morning Katie felt much better as she rode to school with Jen, Britney and Summer, but she had decided not to talk to Grayson today. She felt like she needed to give him some space first. So when she got home from school, she ignored her thoughts to call him and explain everything. Instead she turned up some music and focused on painting her toenails pink. Britney was sleeping over tonight and they were going roller-blading (Britney's request). But by the time Britney got to her house and had knocked on her door, Katie was a total mess. Her eyes were red, and she was curled up into a little ball. Britney's eyes popped open and she jumped onto Katie's bed next to her.

"Oh my god, what's wrong?" Britney asked. Katie sniffed, and wiped her tears away on a tissue that Britney had handed her. Britney was a good listener so Katie decided to tell her.

"I like Grayson!" Katie said and began to wail again. Britney let her cry for a few seconds before speaking.

"So what?"

"Excuse me?" Katie said, shocked. That was not the response she was hoping for.

"You like Grayson Hosking. What's the big deal?" Britney said.

"Britney! You know what the big deal is," Katie told her.

"No I don't. Tell me," Britney said calmly.

"Jen doesn't even like us talking to Grayson. She would hate me forever if he was my boyfriend. I tried convincing myself he was wrong for me but I couldn't," Katie explained.

"Listen to yourself talking. I'm not saying Jen is stupid or you are stupid, but what you just said was very stupid. Jen is your best friend, not your mom. She can't make the calls on who you date okay? If you like Grayson, Jen is going to have to get over it. She has to deal with her insecure feelings. Besides, you didn't purposely fall in love with him just to hurt Jen. Think about it," Britney said wisely.

"That's not all," Katie said.

"What else?" Britney said, patient as ever.

"He thinks I like Ryan and I don't. So he's never going to flirt with me again," Katie said. Britney pulled out her cell phone and began to dial his number.

"No!" Katie yelled. She grabbed the phone and turned it off. "I have a better idea." Katie pushed her hair back into a low ponytail and cleared her throat. "What If I sit with him at lunch and talk to him then? I would feel better if I was talking to him in person," Katie concluded.

"Good. Feel better now?" Britney pulled Katie up from her bed. Katie nodded as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. "So put some foundation under your eyes, and let's go skating."

"How many sweaty gross people do you think have stuck their smelly disgusting feet in here?" Katie made a face as she pulled her size 7 skates on.

"There's disinfectant on the counter," Britney said as she stood up and wobbled. Even though she loved roller-blading, she wasn't very good.

"That's why I brought extra thick socks," Katie responded.

"If I fall and embarrass myself, don't abandon me. I need you," Britney laughed, holding onto Katie's left arm. Katie on the other hand was completely stable and knew what she was doing. She used to love skating before middle school.

"I wish I could skate like you. You go thirty miles per hour, and I can only do like, one," Britney said as they stepped onto the rink.

"You'll get better. Maybe those hot guys over there will encourage you to toughen up," Katie said, pointing to three older guys skating around the edging of the rink. They were going steady and slow.

"How old do you think they are?" Britney asked curiously as she clung to Katie, who was pressing her to go a little faster.

"I say fifteen. But who knows about those older guys," Katie said as she spun around on her skates.

"Fifteen isn't so much older than us. Just a little under two years. We'll be fourteen soon." Britney argued. Katie half-smiled and rolled her eyes. They did a few more slow laps before Britney began to skate faster, and on her own. Soon Britney was getting confident, but also a big head. She was so excited watching her feet, she wasn't watching for people. A few kids skated past Britney and knocked her down. Britney squealed and her body flew to the ground.

"Britney!" Katie cried protectively, trying to grasp her friends arm. Britney stood up and dusted off her pants. She smiled out into the distance and Katie turned around to find that two of the three older guys to skate over.

"You okay?" The blonde guy asked. Britney sucked in some air and turned to him.

"I'm fine, but my legs are definitely all bruised." Britney let the blonde guy help her up and walk her over to the lounge area where they sold food. Katie felt like a third wheel, along with the brown-haired guy.

"Hi," Katie said, trying to make an effort.

"Hi, I'm Jesse," he said. He was cute, but he had way too many freckles for Katie.

"Katie," she said and gave him a pinched smile, "……how old are you?"

"I'm fifteen. Eric, with your friend, is fourteen, and our friend Toast on the rink is sixteen," he said, like _Toast _was a regular name.

"Toast?" Katie squeaked.

"Oh, yeah. It's his childhood nickname. He won't tell us why," Jesse smiled at the thought. "How old are you?" Jesse asked.

"Fourteen," Katie lied. She didn't want him thinking she wasn't mature enough for him. Summer was the only one of the four girls that was already fourteen.

"Cool, so you wanna sit?" Jesse asked. Katie blushed when she saw they were awkwardly standing by the table where Britney and Eric were sitting. Katie slid in next to Britney.

"Are you okay Bee?" Katie asked.

"Eric got me ice. And a sprite!" she beamed. Katie laughed.

"All for a bruise?"

"Yes," Eric responded, smiling.

"I want a bruise," Katie said, pretending to be jealous.

"Me too!" Jesse said. Everyone laughed.

"Well, were supposed to meet up with Toast's friends Butter and Jam in twenty, so were gonna have to leave," Eric said. It took Katie a second to process that he was kidding about Toast's topping friends.

"See you later then," Britney said warmly, waving as they got up.

"Ciao Katie," Jesse said flashing her one last freckly smile.

"You gave him your phone number?" Katie cried. Britney nodded. The two of them were down in Katie's basement watching videos in her home theater. "Now he could like, track you down and rape you!" Katie scolded.

"At least he's hott," Britney shrugged. Katie slapped Britney's tiny brunette head.

"Just pick another movie. I'll go make more popcorn in the kitchen. Don't talk to any strange guys while I'm gone."

**Monday the ****21****st**

Katie was so nervous on Monday morning her fingers were trembling as she put on her eyeliner. After a long weekend of thinking, she had decided to tell Grayson what she thought of him, and then come clean to Jen. It sounded so simple but every time Katie tried to enact it in her head, she felt sick to her stomach.

Two things happened when Katie walked through the door of SMS. One, heat blasted down her shirt from the heater above the door and two, she felt ready to run home and bury her head under her pillow.

"Hey Katie, what's up? You look kind of sick," Jen said.

"Jen, I like Grayson," Katie said subconsciously, the slapped her hand over her mouth. Jen forehead wrinkled up in confusion.

"Excuse me?" Jen said.

"I know that liking your friends' siblings is against the rules but I was hoping maybe you'd be okay with it," Katie said quickly. "I mean he's your cousin really so it doesn't even count."

"Does Grayson know this?" Jen said, her voice rising.

"I don't know. But I was going to tell him today if you didn't kill me first," Katie said quietly. Jen kept opening her mouth to speak but no words came out. Finally she just turned around and walked away.

"Is she okay?" Summer asked, coming up behind Katie.

"Did you hear what I just told her?" Katie asked.

"Nope. Tell me," Summer said, amused.

"It's complicated. You can't get mad at me," Katie pleaded. A strange look came over Summer's face.

"Okay."

"I like Grayson," Katie said loudly. Probably a little too loud. She looked around making sure no one had heard that, but the hallways were so noisy she didn't think anyone had.

"Oh. That's not good."

"I know," Katie shifted her arms across her chest.

"Well, good luck with that one," Summer said.

"Summer!"

"Well, you know it's against the rules. Couldn't you have kept your feelings to yourself or something? Did you have to crush her first thing in the morning?" Summer asked.

"What if it was you who liked Grayson? Wouldn't you want to be honest with Jen? Summer, I felt so guilty. I had to tell her sometime, and I figured the sooner the better."

"Uh, I would just get over it. I know how important it is to Jen that we don't spend too much time with Grayson. You know how incredibly sensitive she is about that. You might as well have just punched her in the face," Summer said.

"Grayson's had girlfriends before. What did Jen do then?" Katie asked.

"Not at school. Besides seventh grade. But all of his girlfriends have been from summer camp. Little flings that last two weeks with girls that Jen wasn't friends with. I don't think she cared. She had boyfriends of her own to worry about. But you would be his first real girlfriend at school," Summer explained.

"Nuh-uh, he had that girlfriend in seventh grade," Katie argued.

"Tailor? She asked him out in the beginning of the year, they 'dated' for two weeks, and then he broke up with her. You call that a real girlfriend? He didn't even like her that much. Plus they were just seventh graders. Jen didn't like Tailor anyway. She said Tailor wore too much make-up and cared too much about her weight. Now she doesn't even go to this school," Summer looked over at Britney who was walking towards them.

"Hey guys. How's did it go with Grayson?" Britney asked Katie, lowering her voice.

"I didn't tell him yet, okay? But I did tell Jen and she……I don't know. She didn't say anything actually. She just walked away. I think I shocked her big time," Katie paused because Grayson had walked up to their little circle.

"Hey guys," he said, his backpack slung over his shoulder. His locker was only across the hallway so it had made sense that he would have stopped to say hi.

"Hey," Katie looked down and started fidgeting. Britney and Summer stared at her until she looked up and threw them an exasperated look. "Lets talk," Katie took Grayson's arm and lead him away, over to his locker where he started unloading his stuff.

"Katie, what is it?"

"Can we talk at lunch today?" she asked him, twirling around a piece of her hair.

"Sure, ill sit with you guys at your table."

"Wait no. We need to talk like….alone," Katie said, feeling kind of hopeless. He let go of his backpack and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Yea, okay. Table by the windows?" he asked, looking serious. Katie smiled,

"Yeah, that's good. See you at lunch," Katie sighed in relief and walked back over to Summer and Britney, who followed her curiously when she went to her own locker to grab her books for first period.

By third period, she was beginning to sweat. _Since when am I so nervous about a boy? _But then Katie realized that if he didn't like her, then the rest of forever would be awkward. That made her feel even worse.

"Hey Grayson," Katie smiled sliding into the small booth. Instead of tables SBMS had red booths. The floor was tiled black and white and there were many choices to eat. Katie almost felt like she was in a restaurant instead of a school cafeteria. Almost.

There were three lines for food. The first was the All-Around American food. That was where you could get your everyday hamburgers, pizza and chicken. The second was called All-Around the World. Everyday it was different; Chinese, Mexican, Japanese and Italian. The third was the Soups, Salads and rolls. Katie didn't really like eating in front of guys though, like most girls she knew. You never knew when something could get stuck on your teeth or on your mouth. She lingered for a minute before grabbing a roll and a bottle of water.

"Hi," Grayson smiled back. Katie wondered if he would call this flirting or just being friendly. They made small talk for about five minutes before Grayson began to _really _start a conversation. "So, are you and Ryan going out?" Grayson asked.

"Ryan?" Katie asked.

"Ryan Aastachzio," Grayson repeated.

"Oh." Katie thought carefully. _Why did he want to know? _She wondered if Grayson was just asking politely or if he was jealous and really did like Katie.

"So?" Grayson asked impatiently. Katie sighed heavily.

"No, I don't like Ryan Aastachzio. How much of an idiot could you be?" Katie said. She immediately regretted it, but she had wanted to say it for a long, long time. Grayson have Katie a weird look.

"Um?" he said, confused.

"Don't you get it? I just said that because Jen was there. Who by the way probably won't talk to me ever again but its okay, I guess. For now," Katie told him.

"If you don't like him, does that mean you like me?" He asked excitedly.

"It depends."

"What if I told you that I liked you, but I hadn't said anything because I didn't think you liked me back?" Grayson asked.

"I would probably say that you were wrong, I do like you," Katie bit her bottom lip.

"So Katie, will you go out with me?" he asked, acting calm. Katie held the silence for a few seconds to build up suspense.

"Sure," she said, hoping her hair wasn't frizzy. But soon after she felt a stab of guiltiness. Where was Jen right now? She sure wasn't in the cafeteria. Her smiled turned into a frown quickly.

"What's wrong?" Grayson asked.

"Jen," Katie said.

"I'll talk to Jen. I'm living at her house right now aren't I? She can't ignore me forever. Don't worry about it. She'll eventually get over it and move on," Grayson said.

"She might not."

"It's not your fault you like me. I am pretty irresistible, don't you think?" Grayson said, sounding pretty cocky. But Katie laughed, knowing he was kidding.

"Is that what your mom tells you every day before you go to school?"

"It boosts my confidence," Grayson laughed back. By this time lunch was over and everyone else was getting up. Katie realized she hadn't eaten anything and her stomach began to rumble. She tried to will it to shut up so Grayson didn't think she had weird stomach problems. Grayson, her boyfriend. _I have a boyfriend. Grayson Hosking is my boyfriend._


End file.
